In my humble opinion come what may he has always obeyed his masters voice even in the early days of the application by the developers when feelings were running high on the cannibalising of Shirley park?

How he can possibly say that more and more locals are upset by the delay in the development?

I suggest to him if it was put to a vote by the residents of Shirley on which we have never had the opportunity the building of another great supermarket and loss of parkland would not be successful?

The loss of hundreds of parking places if the application goes through without provision for temporary parking being made it will be a big set back for existing shops,

Local employees and Shirley shoppers? The only winners are the developers who like some of our Councillors do not reside in Shirley and know what’s best for us?

It is only through the efforts of groups like Keep Shirley Alive that both Solihull and Shirley residents have been able to keep undesirable developments at bay over many years. In my book that is democracy at work.

Harry H Howell, Shakespeare Drive, Shirley

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Change litter law

It seems the battle to keep our roadsides clear of litter is never ending. This situation is not helped by the current legal loophole that lets litter louts get away with it scot-free.

Currently our local council can’t take effective action against people who throw litter out of their cars because the existing law requires the council to prove the identity of the individual who threw the litter, rather than just proving that litter was thrown from the car in the first place.

I support the work being done by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Local Government Association and Keep Britain Tidy to amend the existing law, so that whoever owns the vehicle is responsible for what is thrown out of it.

Similar to the way laws on speeding, wearing seat belts and fly-tipping work.

I’m sure there are hundreds of councils, citizens and motorists who are sick of roadside litter.

Clearing up this litter is expensive and dangerous and this simple change to the law would provide our council with an effective deterrent against the careless and thoughtless behaviour of litterers.

I would like to encourage your readers to write to their MP about the issue - there is a draft letter available at www.cpre.org.uk.

Mrs Anne Betts, Rumbush Lane, Dickens Heath

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Long in the tooth

SOLIHULL Council’s new cabinet has a familiar look to it, composed of seven Conservative politicians with long service at this elevated level. Rather too long, some might say.

I had hoped that having regained control of the council after a spell in opposition, the Tory group would ring the changes and introduce some new faces, councillors who could bring a fresh approach to the job of holding a cabinet portfolio.

Some people will argue that there’s no substitute for experience. I don’t agree. I believe men and women who are still working - perhaps in a profession or successful business - are bound to have more knowledge of the modern world than ageing retirees.

I do not wish to detract from the sterling service councillors of a mature age have given over the years but is it desirable for some to continue occupying cabinet posts well into their sixties and even seventies?

In contrast to the elected representatives, council officers cannot continue working after state retirement age, except perhaps in certain rare circumstances.

Peter Kennedy, Hampton-in-Arden

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A spent force

As Paul Gilbert implies (Letters May 27) the Lib Dems are now a spent force in British politics, so the “protest vote” he refers to will need a new home. Perhaps we could have an additional box on the ballot paper: ‘None of the above’?

This might also encourage a greater voter turnout, giving as it does an opportunity for those of us who are totally disenchanted with the current batch of politicians in the major parties, to express our opinion.

Alex Erskine, Rodborough Road, Solihull

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The joy of it

Last week I joined a small group of people to enjoy a very pleasant five mile cycle ride on a virtually traffic free route using some of the many cycle paths through the parks and open spaces which exist in Chelmsley Wood.

We even had a coffee and cake break at a nice cafe at the half way mark.

Regrettably there were no new cyclists from the central Chelmsley Wood area on the ride, which is a shame as it is hoped that these rides, which will take place through the summer, could encourage local residents to discover that they can enjoy safe cycling away from the traffic which may have discouraged them from venturing on to many of the roads in Chelmsley Wood.

So bring your bike along and give it a try.

The rides are on alternate Tuesday mornings until July 19, and the next ride is on Tuesday June 7.

They start from the Asda car park entrance ( next to the Banbury Club ) at 10 am and finish by 12 noon. More information can be found at www.cyclesolihull.org.uk

Brian Jameson via e-mail

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Charity cheer

Many thanks to the generous people of Shirley and Knowle who contributed to our annual street collection on Saturday May 28.

We managed to raise in total £387.24 and this will be used to help local animal sanctuaries and welfare organisations.

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In reply to Mr Caffery’s letter of April 1 about my column highlighting the 29 per cent drop in teenage pregnancies in Solihull in the last 10 years I would like to point out that this figure refers to conception rates and not birth rates.

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